Appeals court rejects torture suit against Rumsfeld

(Reuters) - Two American citizens cannot sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over allegations that they were tortured by the U.S. military in Iraq, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel had said Rumsfeld and unnamed others allegedly developed, authorized and used harsh interrogation techniques against them in Iraq.

In an 8-3 ruling, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chicago, found that the two men had no right to sue Rumsfeld and others in the military chain of command for damages.

The decision overturned decisions by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court and a federal judge in Illinois, which had allowed the suit to proceed despite efforts by the former Bush and current Obama administration to get the case dismissed.

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"This new absolute immunity applies not only to former Secretary Rumsfeld but to all members of the military, including those who were literally hands-on in torturing these plaintiffs," Judge David Hamilton wrote in his dissent.